
Glass_jr_4^1_i 



THE ORGANIZATION OF THE HOUSE ; - WHO DEFEND 
THE ADMINISTRATION? 



SPEECH 

!• ■ 






HON. Sf SfCOX, 



UEUVERED IN THE 



HOUSE OF REPRESEXTATIVES, 

ytuGUST 8, 1876, 



IN ANSWER TO 



MESSRS. HALE AND CANNON. 



" Am I a lord ? and have I such a lady ? 

Or do I dream ? or have I dream'd till now? 
I do not sleep ; I see, I hear, I speak ; 

I smell sweet savors, and I feel soft things ; 
Upon my life, I am a lord, indeed ; "^ 

And not a tinker, nor Christopher Sly, 
Well, bring our lady hither to our sight; 

And once again, a pot o' the smallest ale." 

Ckristopher Sly, in the Mock Duke. 



WASHINGTON: 

1876. 



t-y-TA^ 



r 






SPEECH 



HOX. SAMUEL S. COX 



Tho House liavinn; under consideration the motion of JFr. Hale to rc-cocsider 
tlie vote refuniug the President's message on the sundry civil bill. 

Mr. COX said : 

Mr. Speaker : I could not in five minntes, as I hoped, reply to 
siicli a magnificent and hefty speech as that just made by the gen- 
tleman I'rom Maine, [Mr. Hale.] [Laughter.] In the history of 
our Government, from its beginning down, have we ever seen snch a 
collection of particular and minute things which make up so little in 
the aggregate ? [Laugliter.] The gentleman did not refer to the 
whales, but to the minnows. [Laughter.] Why did he not refer to 
the nnloading of C4eneral Grant and his administration and to the 
various frauds connected with the Executive Departments ? That was 
not in his line ; but he charged upon this House that it had actually, 
in some small instances, reformed itself. Did he not charge that one 
committee with the aid of its chairman, my distinguished friend from 
Illinois, [Mr. MoRiiisON,] had dismissed its clerk, and that the Com- 
mittee on Eules had dismissed two men, one a journal clerk aiul 
the other a doorkeeper, for certain improprieties? No thievery was 
charged on these men, and no thievery proved, and no one believed 
that they were thieves. 

ORnAXIZATION OF COMMITTEES. 

If the worst that can be said of this House and its organization is 
that the committees were made badly and sectionally against the 
I^orth by our absent, lamented, and distinguished Speaker, then the 
opposition is most nidiappy. I cannot compare our incomparable 
Speaker and the committees made by him with Mv. Ex-Speaker Blaine, 
of Maine, and his committees. But I will say that in the last Congress, 
out of thirty-seven chairmanships, only seven were given to the South, 
and those very incouse(iuential ; so tliat now if the Sf:uth has a fair 
share of chairmen, it is but a compensation for the past. 

;Mr. DURHAM. Just one moment. Out of forty-four onlj' seven 
were given to the Soittli. 

Mr. COX. I am corrected. Out of forty-four only seven were given 
to the South by the Speaker from Maine, [Mr. Blaine.] Of course my 
friend from Maine [Mr. Hale] would not or did not look that up. But 
mere chairmanships of committees are in)t important, for I have been a 
chairman myself. [Laughter.] The point is, how are committees 
made as to majorities and business. That is the point. From it is 
seen the patriotic or partisan animus. 

The fact is that my friend's tlieory about the making up of com- 
mittees in this Congress by Mr. Speaker Kerr is iiot borne out by the 
facts. You must look not to the chairman, but to the majority "of a 



4 

committee, to find the essential elements and voice of a committee 
•which direct both the action of the committee and to a great extent 
that of the House. 

But I arose, sir, principally for the purpose of calling attention to> 
the unsectional and fair constitution of the committees of this Con- 
gress, so as to repel the asi^ersious of the gentleman from Maine. 
And how are they ? 

The Committee of Elections have a majority from the North ; the 
Committee of Ways and Means have also a majority of one from the 
North ; the Committee on Appropriations have seven from the North 
to four from the South. I wash the House would notice that by the 
North I mean above Mason and Dixon's line, and how badly the gen- 
tleman from Maine has iutei'preted the unsectional action of Mr. 
Spealicr Kerr. The Committee on Banking and Currency have nine 
from the North to two from the South ; the Committee on the Pacific 
Railroads, which was mentioned by the gentleman [Mr. Hale] in a 
peculiar way, have seven fi'om the Nortii to four from the South ; 
the Committee of Claims have seven from tlie North to four from 
the South ; and, by the way, most of these war claims, of which they 
have jurisdiction and to which sinister reference was made, are owned 
by northern men : four-fifths of them. 

A Member. All of them loyal men. 

Mr. COX. Yes, speculators who bought them up; and, gentlemen 
on the other side, you know it. [Laughter.] I do not know a man 
fro m New England who has not a little speculative turn. [Laugh- 
ter-] The Committee on Commerce have seven from tlie North to 
four from the South. My friend from Maine is interested in com- 
merce and shipping, and tlie committee on that subject have seven 
from the North and four from the South. He cannot complain of this 
arrangement. We have not revived sliipping yet, because we have not 
passed our reform taritt' bill to take the taxotit'of certain articles which 
enter into a ship. But some day or other, when Governor Tilden is 
President, we will revive shipping in Maine and elsewhere, in spite 
of the exacting and destructive policies of the republican party. 

I am going over the committees in their order. Upon the Com- 
mittee on the Public Lands there are nine North to two South. On 
the Committee on the Post-Office and Post-Roads they are six North 
to five South. On the Comnuttee for the District of Columbia they 
are eight to three. On the important Committee on the Judiciary 
they are eight to three. On the Connuittee on War Claims, let it be 
remembered that there are seven North to four South. On the Com- 
mittee on Public Expenditures they are six to five. On the Commit- 
tee on Private Land Claims they are five to four. 

Here let me pause on the next. It is the Committee on Manufact- 
ures. Well, what do they do ? Have they ever met or reported ? 
What are they constituted for? The Speaker of our House has act- 
ually given a majority of one to the South on that committee! No, 
I beg pardon ; he has made them even, five to five. That is the only 
lead I have struck as yet where there is not a majority of northern 
men. Why should not the North, which has predominance in jiopu- 
lation and interests, have a predominant voice on the committees f 

Upon the Committee on Agriculture there are six North to five 
South ; and yet the fruits of the soil, cotton, grain, &c., are not all 
North. Upon the Committee on Indian Affairs they are as seven to 
five. Upon the Committee on Military Afiairs there are seven to four. 
Upon the Committee on the Militia, six to five ; upon the Committee 
on Naval Afiairs, seven to four; upon the Committee on Foreign 



Affairs tbcy are eiylit to tlirco ; upon the CoiuinUtoe on tlie Territo- 
ries they are nine to tliree ; npou the Committee on Kevolntionary 
Pensions tliey are seven to fonr ; upon the Commitree on Invalid I en- 
sious there are six Nortli to tivo Soutli ; upon the Committee on Rail- 
ways and Canals they are six to five ; upon the Committee on Mines 
iind Mining they are eight to three. 

The next is the Committee on Education and Labor. Now, if I had 
been the Speaker of this Honse I think I would have given a majority 
to the South on that committee ; and would not my friend from Maine 
have done so '! Why '1 Because we are trying to educate the " wards 
of the nation," by the help of the Peabody fund and public lands. AVe 
have 1)ills to donate Federal property for a noble, educational, and 
humanitarian purpose. My friend from Virginia [Mr. Wai-kkr] has 
reported such a bill. Well, sir, that committee is the first I have met, 
upon which there is a nnijoritj' of southern men. They are five North 
to six South ! Is this any wonderful goodness in our Speaker! The 
<listiuguislied ex-governor of Virginia, born in the North, is the chair- 
man of the committee. Who can complain of his designation as 
chairman ? He has reported from that committee a measure designed 
to promote the education of the colored children of the nation. He 
Jias placed it on the basis of illiteracy, and in spite of northern preju- 
dices. I think you cannot complain of the constitution of that com- 
mittee, on the ground that it is sectionally southern and African. It 
ought to be southern ; and so it is made. 

Upon the Committee on the Revision of the Laws of the United 
States there are nine North to two South. The Committee on Coin- 
age, Weights, and Measures are seven to three. The Committee on 
Patents are six to five. The Committee on Public Buildings and 
Grounds, seven to four. The North still predominates. 

COfcT AND UTILITY OF INVKSTIC-ATIOXS. 

Upon the Committee of Accounts they are fonr North to one South. 
And what a splendid Committee of Accounts we have in this House ! 
£Laughter.] How the chairman of that committee will carry out econ- 
omies when he becomes governor of the State of Indiana! [Laughter.] 
I challenge my friend from Maine when he goes to Indiana to stump 
for Governor Hayes to take up and scrutinize the accounts of this Con- 
gress under the auspices and vigilance of our chairman of accounts. 
He says that they will amount to a million dollars. He will find that 
under the management of our blne-jean governor they have l)eeuwell 
■expended, just and fair. When the gentleman complains that we have 
been expensive this session he must remember the great expense that 
has been incurred in investigations. He says $1,0U0,000. He must 
remember who caused the investigations. It is a mere guess as to 
the amount, however. Why, sir, suppose the amount true; it would 
pay us if we spent five millions. We need it as an example to future 
Houses and future officers in the conduct of the public business. We 
need to spend much as a preventive of fraud. Shall we not examine 
into and develop fi-aud because it costs money ? Why, my friend 
from Tennessee, the chairman of the Naval Committee, [Mr. Whit- 
THORXE,] while making an examination about naval affairs, struck an 
account of !|23,000 with Donald McKay, in Boston, which has been re- 
funded to the Treasury because of this very committee of investiga- 
tion finding out the mistake. The investigation paid for itself and 
more. Altogether, I believe, there have been thus far only $116,000 
•charged against investigations. If the truth were known, sir, that 
amount has already beeii paid up in full by results, and ten times over. 
Besides, I am informed that the Printing Committee discovered one 



6 

item of over a thoiTsacd (Tollars due from one Urin and caused its col- 
lection, and thus more than paying all expenses of tliat peculiar inves- 
tigation. So that directly, not to say indirectly, the discovery of 
■v\-rougs is useful even in a pecuniary sense. 

Mr. Chairman, I Avas simply going over the list of committees to 
show the proportion of northern to southern men upon them. I desire 
thus to repel the attack upon Sir. Si)eaker Kerr, who formed them. 

The next is the Committee on Mileage, on which there are three 
Borthern men to one from the Soutli; Joint Committee on Printing, 
two to one; Joint Committee on Enrolled Bills, four to one; Joint 
Committee on the Library, two to one; Committee on Expenditures 
in the State Department, four to one; Committee on Expenditures in 
the Treasury Department, seven to two; Committeo on Expenditures 
in the AVar Department, three to two; Connnittee on Expenditures 
in the Navy Dei>artment, four to one; Committee on Expenditures iu 
the Post-Office Department, two to three. I laaidly see how that hap- 
pened. Perhaps the Speaker thought he had been leaning too much 
in favor of the Nortli and wildly changed the proi)ortion here! The 
criticism the gentleman from Maine intended has on this little commit- 
tee missed its mark. The Comjnitteeon Expenditures in the Interior 
Department has four to one; Committee on Expenditures on Public 
Buildings, six to one; Committee on Expenditures in the Department 
of Justice, six to three. Yet how tiseful have we made all these here- 
tofore useless committees on expenditures. They became active in- 
struments of honesty. There was a reason for it. But does it detract 
from the utility because northern members predominate ? The truth 
is, our honored Speaker only thought of honest men, and nor of sec- 
tions, in forming his committees. 

The next is the Committee on Reform in tlie Civil Service. Here 
there are eight North to three South. God knows there is a great neces- 
sity for such a committee, as well for a reform in the civil service — not 
in this House and its constitution so much as all through the country, 
from Alaska to Georgia, from Galveston to Penobscot, or whatever part 
of the world the gentleman from Maine may live in. [Laughter.] Now 
the Committee on Mississippi Levees are four North to seven South. 
This, Mr. Chairman, is the third committee where there is a majority 
of southern men. If the gentleman from Maine himself were Speaker 
would he not give a majority of that commitree to the South ? No f 
Then I take him to be less fair tiian I always tlunight him to be. Why 
should not southern men have the Mississippi levees iu their own 
charge for report and legislation ? They were so given in the ap- 
pointment of tlie committeo by Mr. Speaker Kekr ; four north- 
ern men to seven southern men. Is it not their peculiar interest ? 
They were appointed to take care of their interests just as the west- 
tern men are placed on certain connnittees to care for territories and 
lauds. The Committee on Rules are three to the North— four includ- 
ing Mr. Speaker Kerr, ex officio a member. -There is nobody on that 
committee except northern men. The Committee on the Centennial 
Celebration are eight to three ; Committee on the Texas Frontier 
Troubles, three to two. There is a majority from the North even on 
a committee about Texas affairs and its troublous border. 

FKEEDMEX AND THEIR ROIiHEES. 

Do you desire further rehearsal? The next is the Committee on 
the Freedman's Bank. Now I favor giving to the Freedman's Bank 
and its rascals a committee with a majority from the South. That is 
the fourth committee where the South have a prevailing majority; 
the members being two northern to live southern men. Why should 



it not be so? Who robbed the freediueii? Was it northern men f 
Was it New England men ? They might have had their hand in itj 
[Langhter] bnt those robbed are tlie Laboring people Sonth whose 
representatives, -white and black, are here. It was right that the 
atlairs of the Froednian's Bank shonld be looked into by southern men. 
So the chairman is Mr. Douglas, of Virginia ; and there are associated 
with him Mr. Bradfokd of Alabama, Mr. Riddle of Tennessee, Mr. 
Hooker of Mississippi, Mr. Bllss of New York, and Mr. Rainey of 
South Carolina. The latter is a good, noble, kindly colored gentle- 
man. How could this committee have been made better ? and especi- 
ally may I not say so in view of the fact that there was an entire 
unanimity in the committee upon the subject of their report and upon 
the necessity of punishing the despoilors of the simple freedmeu ? 

Then there is the Connuittee on Real-Estate Pool and Jay Cooke 
Indebtedness ; the members of that committee stand two North to 
three South. Mr. Glover, of Missouri, is chairman. Is it so terrible 
to have him as chairman ? I believe he was connected with some 
similar committee in a previous Congress. This is the fourth among 
forty-odd committees where the South predominates. Besides Mr. 
Glover, there are, Mr. Lewis of Alabama, Mr. Pratt of Iowa, Mr. 
Smith of Pennsylvania, and Mr. Cclbersox, of Texas. Now no one 
can object to tlie ])ersoniiel of a committee of investigation like this; 
nor because they are composed of three southern and two northern 
members. So it seems, sir, that out of some forty committees four or 
live have a majority of members from the South! Is not this horri- 
bly sectional 'I 

WHISKY AND ITS CUOOKEDXESS. 

Then there is the Committee on Whisky Trials in Saint Louis. Has 
my friend from Maine ever read the history of these whisky trials ? 
What a trial it is to go through such crookedness ! Have yon read 
Bluford Wilson's testimony ? Do yon know where it strikes ? It is 
worse than Jersey lightning when it strikes. fLanghter.] Would 
you have that committee made up entirely of northern men ? Well, 
here you have it ! Here are the names : Mr. Kxott of Kentucky, Mr. 
Phelps of Connecticut, Mr. Glover of Missouri, Mr. Cociir.axe of 
Pennsylvania, Mr. MacMahon of Ohio, Mr. McCrary of Iowa, and 
Mr. Plaisted of Maine. On the minority of the committee is per- 
haps the best lawyer on your side of the House, Mr. McCrary. How 
can you complain of th at as sectional ? Your complaint, if any, ought 
to lie in another direction. 

Then we come to the Committee on Federal Offices in Louisiana. I 
think I helped to a^jpoint that committee as Speaker pro tempore. It- 
might be thought that on that committee there should be a majority 
of southern members. But no, the jiroportion of northern to south- 
em members on that committee is six to three, and upon it is the dis- 
tinguished, pertinacious,>nd irascible person from Michi'^au, Mr. 
Coxger. [Laughter.] 

Mr. CONGER. I ask that the words of the gentleman be taken 
down. [Laughter.] 

Mr. COX. I will ask that the gentleman himself maybe taken down. 
[Laughter.] I said notliing but what was honorable to him. 

Mr. CONGER. I think it would take the whole force of the demo- 
cratic party to do it. 

_ Mr. COX.' The democratic party will not exert itself in that direc- 
tion very mucli. [Laughter. ] Then there is the committee on chargea 
against Judge Wylie which I appointed. It has five northern members. 
and two southern members, Last, there is the committee on charges- 



s 

against the Clerk of the House, with four northern members and one 
southern member. So that of all these several committees, except 
four or live, the majority of their members have been chosen from 
the North. 

Mr. HALE. Will the gentleman yield to me for a moment ? 

Mr. COX. With the greatest delight. 

Mr. HALE. In making up this majority the gentleman of course 
includes the republican members, who are almost entirely from the 
North. 

Mr. COX. Did not the gentleman know that when I was going 
over the committees ? 

Mr. HALE. How is it with the gentleman's political friends ? Do 
not the members from the South constitute the majority of the dem- 
ocratic members on most of the committees ? 

Mr. COX. I think perhaps the majority of the members on the 
democratic side of the House are from the South, and perhaps hap- 
pily for the country, in its sectional emergency. 

Mr. HALE. Happily for the country ? 

A Member. The democratic majority has the greater number from 
the North. 

Mr. COX. That may he so. But is it anything against a man that 
he comes from the South, if he is a good and honest committee-man 
and investigator ? 

Mr. HALE. My point was that the high places in this House were 
given to these gentlemen from the South. 

IS THE SOUTH IN THE UNION? 

Mr. cox. I have an idea that the South is inside of the Union 
now. I have an idea that they intend to stay. I have an idea that 
they should be treated fairly. If there is to be any criticism at all 
made upon this list of committees, =t is that our Speaker has leaned 
rather against the South in making up the body of the committees, 
and in favor of the North. Yes, it is so ; do not shake your head ; 
there is nothing in it, unless I make a mistake. [Laughter.] 

Now, the gentleman from Maine [Mr. Hale] made an elaborate and, 
as I have already said, a " hefty " speech on this subject, and there 
is no other way to answer it except by giving these simple facts. 

NOW LET us CAREY THE WAU INTO AFRICA. 

The Cincinnati platform says : 

The national administration meiits commentlation for its honorable work in the 
management of our domestic and foreign aflairs, and President Grant deserves the 
continued and hearty gratitude of the American people for his patriotism and im- 
mense services in war and in peace. 

If that is the case, why did the distinguished ex-colleague of my 
friend from Maine, Mr. filaine, speak in the way he did about such 
a good man as General Grant and his associates as rogues? Why did 
your party at Cincinnati unload him ? Why are you all the time 
unloading? You unloaded a candidate for governor in Indiana the 
. other day. What for I What had he done ? Does no one answer ? 
Why did you unload Ex-Secretary Bristow ? 

Mr. HALE. I suppose the republican party in Indiana followed the 
precedent of the democratic party, which had unloaded their judicial 
ticket. 

Mr. ROBINSON. We unloaded one, and you unloaded four. Your 
men stole $67,000, and your party admitted it, and unloaded them. 
We unloaded one, and are now 10,000 votes ahead. 

Mr. cox. You see we never defend our rascals; you defend yours 
when they are prosecuted. 



Mr. ROBINSOX. Yon do uot kuow Iiow to defend them. 

Mr. COX. Do uot interrupt me again. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore, (Mr. Clymer in the chair.) The gen- 
tleman from New York [Mr. Cox] has the floor. 

Mr. COX. Certainly I have. I do not want to get np any feeling 
on the part of the gentleman from Indiana and the gentleman from 
Maine. The speech of the latter was not worth answering. It was too 
.•small, too microscopic in its fault-tinding with this House. Yet I felt 
?jouud to do so in defense of our Speaker, who is ill and absent. I would 
uiot do so if he were here, and in health to defend himself on the floor 
from this attack. I feel bound to justify him iu this House for the 
iinsectional course he pursued iu making up the committees of the 
House and in the general justice of his life and character. 

Mr. HALE. I made no personal reflection on the Speaker. I only 
claimed that he was impelled by his party. 

Mr. COX. Well, now, sit down and you will feel better after that 
remark. [Laughter.] 

Mr. HALE. Does the gentleman feel any better for drawing it out ? 

Mr. COX. Now, you know you would not allow auy interruption 
yourself; but I allowed you to come in whenever you pleased, be- 
cause it does not hiirt any one. [Laughter.] 

In conclusion, and in answer to the remarkable speech which we 
have heard, and which maybe called an incarnate ineptitude, [laugh- 
ter,] I say that this House cannot be reproached this session with 
4iuy culpability. It is not ameuable to attack for anything except the 
indiscretion and imjiropriety of some two or three of its appointees. 
These we promptly removed. 

PUBLIC PEINTER DEFENDED. 

Do you not remember that upon a resolution introduced by myself 
the Committee on Printing made an inquiry into the conduct of tlie 
■Government Printing Office ? That committee convicted your Con- 
gressional Printer ; and he was discharged. Whore-appointed him? 
President Grant, whom you indorse in your platform. Do you in- 
dorse Mr. Clapp's administration as Printer ? You were very prompt 
to get up a while ago. Do you indorse the appointment of Mr. Clapp 
as Printer to the House and Senate ? 

Mr. HALE. Does the gentleman want an answer ? He seems to 
invite one. 

Mr. COX. Yes, sir. 

Mr. HALE. According to the information I have received from 
members of the minority who took part in that inveetigation, I un- 
derstand that it was conducted entirely in an unfair, partisan man- 
ner, and that there was really nothing in the facts which warranted 
the removal of Mr. Clapp. 

Mr. COX. Did not the Senate and the House, by a legislative act, 
agree that he ought to go out I 

Mr. HALE. The House did, 

Mr. COX. And the Senate concurred by its conferees. You cannot 
deny it. 

Mr. HALE. Does the gentleman mean to say that the Senate ac- 
ceded to the position taken by the House upon that report of the com- 
mittee that conducted the printing investigation ? 

Mr. COX. I did not say that. I say that on the sundry civil bill 
both Houses agreed that Mr. Clapp should go out. 

Mr. HALE. The Senate agreed that this office should be filled bv 
presidential appointment ; and I believe it should. I voted for that 
principle in the committee of conference, as I would again ; and the 
President has re-appointed the same man. 



10 

Mr. COX. You approve of that appointment, do you ? Do you In- 
dorse the appointment of Mr. Clapp ? 

Mr. HALE. Certaiuly I do. 

Mr. COX. You do ? 

Mr. HALE. Certainly. 

Mr. COX. Well, tliat is tlie last feather on the camel's back. Yoa 
are not the man to have made the speech you did. I might read iiptso 
you the report of the Committee ou Printing and convince you that 
you indorse that which is very, very Trrong. You ought to know htt- 
ter, if you have read the reports. 

Mr. HALE. What does the minority report hold ? 

Mr. COX. O, well, we have had all that thoroughly dls-cnsseiL 
The Senate and the House acted on it. The President has st-a?^ 
pointed your man ; and now you indorse the Executive in puttlBg 
this printing business again in his charge after the exj)osures made in 
this House. 

Mr. BALLOU. The gentleman from New York has asked why Mr. 
Clapp was reappointed. 

Mr. COX. I cannot yield further. 

Mr, BALLOU. I say that there is not a particle of evidence froia 
the beginning of that examination to the end to show that the Pub- 
lic Printer was not an honest, faithful oliicer. 

Mr. COX. How often must I try to speak without being inter- 
rupted? I have not interrupted any gentleman on the other side. 

The SPEAKER j^ro imipon'. The gentleman from Xew York -wili 
proceed. 

Mr. VANCE, of Ohio. I would like to say one word, if the geistle>- 
man from New York will allow me. 

Mr. COX. With the greatest pleasure. 

Mr. VANCE, of Ohio. If the evidence of Mr. Clapp, the Congres- 
sional Printer, and that of one man from New York, Mr. Garner, be 
taken side by side they will be found to substantiate the very ma- 
terial charge made in the report of the majority of the Committee 
on Printing. To establish the majority of those charges nothing 
more is necessary than the testimony of Mr. Clapp himself, and that 
of the man in New York, from whom he made his purchases. I need 
not refer to the recent editorial comments of the New York Times 
and other leading newspapers of the country, East as well as West, 
and the Chronicle, of this city. 

Mr. BALLOU. I Avish to say there is no foundation for the state- 
ment ju«t made by the gentleman from Ohio ; there is no evidence to 
sustain it. 

Mr. COX. I have been in this House sixteen years and have never 
had a chance to close a debate until this session. I have never had a 
chance to speak without interruption, though I scarcely ever inter- 
rupt anybody. 

DISMISSAL OF COJIMISSIOXER rR.\TT AXD HIS SUCCESSOR. 

What I want next to say is this : Mr. Pratt was dismissed as Com- 
missioner of Internal Revenue, was he not? At least indirectly? 
Am I right ? 

A Member. He resigned. 

A Member. Do not interrupt him. 

Mr. COX, Why don't you come forward, if you want to ? [LaxTgh- 
ter.] Who was put in his place ? A General Bourn. [Laughtejs-.J. 

A Member. No, Rauin, of Illinois. 

Mr. COX. Well, Mr. Raum, of Illinois, was put in his place. What 
is he known for ? For sending a dispatch about the whisky trials.. 



11 

Thatisalllcan rocollect about liiin, except that be was in one of our 
Congresses, vrhich was not very creditable. [Laughter.] 

Mr. CONGElv. The geutlemau has beeu here sixteen years and 
ought to remember his colleagues. 

Mr. COX. Can I not have my chauce on the floor without iuter- 
ru2>tion ? 

Mr. CONGER. He has been with the gentleman on this floor and 
he ought to remember him. 

Mr. COX. I was not iu that Congress and do not know anything 
about him. All I know of him is the fact that he did congratulate 
the men who were engaged iu crooked matters iu Saint Louis. Do 
you approve of putting him iu and turning such a man as Judge Pratt 
out ■? Do you suppose the people of Indiana who know Judge Pratt 
approve of that ? Everybody in Indiana who knows Judge Pratt, 
respects him as an honest mau. I have known him myself to act iu 
relations of i)rivate trust. He is known as the honest man. Almost 
singular in that State, aud in that respect, is he thus known. But you 
could not staud him iu that very remarkable Department. [Laugh- 
ter.] Why? 

GENERAL K.VUM AND THE CUOOKED DISPATCH. 

Mr. CONGER. Will the gentleman i)ermit me to ask him if ho 
knows anything in the world in the character or reputation of Mr. 
Raum that is not that of a high-minded, honorable, and honest man ? 

Mr. COX. I have said that all I know of him in the world is a. 
printed dispatch in relation to these whisky trials which he sent as a 
congratulation. 

Mr. BURCHARD, of Illinois. The gentleman must remember that 
he was a gallant ofticer in the Union Army. 

Mr. GARFIELD. The gentleman from New York ought to remem- 
ber that he served in Congress with us. 

Mr. COX. He may have been a good member of Congress, though 
I think I never served with him. But I have known good member* 
of Congress turn out afterward to be very bad men. [Laughter.] 
I do not say he was not a good member of Congress, but I do say that 
all I know about him is the congratu.lations to the crooked peoj)le at 
Saint Louis. [Laughter.] 

Mr. BURCHARD, of Illinois. He was in the Union Army. 

Mr. COX. He may have been a good soldier. I do not say any- 
thing against the soldier. What I say is that Judge Pratt was some- 
how turned out and another gentleman put in his jilace, and all I 
know of the man put in his place is that he sent this congratulatory 
telegraphic dispatch. [Laughter.] 

Mr. CANNON, of Illinois. Will the gentleman from New York 
yield to me in that connection and for this reason 

Mr. COX. To vindicate anything personal, I will. 

Mr. CANNONj of Illinois. Not at all ; but General Raum is from 
my State. 

Mr. COX. Yes, sir ; I know that. 

Ml'. CANNON, of Illinois. I merely wish to say this : He is well 
known in my State, and there is not a man in Illinois who has a bet- 
ter reputation as an honest man and an able man than General Raum. 

Mr. COX. But is it not so of Judge Pratt, of Indiana ? 

Mr. CANNON, of Illinois. I understand so. 

Mr. COX. Then why is one put out aud the other put in ? [Laugh- 
ter.] 

Mr. CANNON, of Illinois. I am not speaking of that matter. I am 
only spe, iking as a citizen of Illinois and as a Representative of Illi- 



12 

nois, and defending General Eaum against the impntation the gentle- 
man lualies against his character. 

Mr. COX. I did not make any imputation, sir; I know nothing of 
Iiioi, except so far as that dispatch is concerned. 

Mr. CANNON, of Illinois. Then I have nothing to say. 

Mr. COX. Of course you have nothing to say. [Laughter.] 

Mr. CANNON, of Illinois. I have only defended him. 

AX UNUSUAL AEIIAXGEMEXT FOU INTERPELLATIONS. 

Mr. COX. Don't you shake your finger at me that way. [Laugh- 
iter.] I will get scared if you do. [Laughter.] 

Mr. CANNON, of Illinois. With the permission of the gentleman 

The SPEAKER jjro tempore. The gentleman from New York has 
the floor and will proceed without interruption. 

Mr. COX. If the gentleman will agree to put his hands in his 
pockets, he can go on. [Great laughter.] 

The SPEAKER jjrofcjH^^^ore. The gentleman has the floor, and will 
proceed. |!!^r^„:r±!; 

Mr. CANNON, of Illinois, rose. 

Mr, COX. My friend miist speak, if at all, by following my re- 
<][uest and condition, and putting his hands iu his pocket. [Laugh- 
ter.] 

Mr. CANNON, of Illinois. I have both my hands in my iiockets now. 
[Laughter.] And I only want to say 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New York has 
the floor.| 

Mr. COX. I will yield for one remark only. 

Mr. CANNON, of Illinois. I wish to say this : I did not seek to in- 
terrupt the gentleman to make any point or to attempt to make any 
point, if I were capable of doing so. I do not often interrupt gentle- 
men on the floor of this House ; but when the gentleman makes a 
remark by innuendo 

THE ARRANGEMENT BROKEN. 

Mr. COX. The gentleman has his hand out of his pocket and is 
shaking his finger at me again. [Great laughter.] 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New York has the 
floor and must not be interrupted. The Chair will not permit it any 
longer. 

Mr. CANNON, of Illinois. Now, if the gentleman thinks that is very 
courteous or smart 

Mr. COX. I claim the floor after that remark. [Laughter.] 

Mr. CANNON, of Illinois. The gentleman ought not to cut me off 
that way, although he has the right to do it. 

Mr. COX. When you abuse my courtesy I want you to be quietly 
seated while I proceed with my remarks. 

Mr. CANNON, of Illinois. Very well, if you decline to yield fur- 
ther 

Mr. COX. I have yielded to you more than I ever did to any man 
for the same amount of frivolous idea. 

Mr. CANNON, of Illinois. Thank you. 

WHY GOVERNOR JEWELL WENT OUT. 

Mr. COX. Now, again, I want to know why Governor Jewell of 
"Connecticut was compelled to resign. What was that for ? Because 
he said the country would not stand these strange removals and this 
curious conduct ; nothing else. And yet the gentleman from Illinois 
and others defend the administration of General Grant. Not one of 
them dare to go back upon the resolution of indorsement of General 



13 

Grant at Cincinnati. Not one of the whole of that side of the Ilonso 
has yet been heard to take hack one word of that x'liitft)rui eulogy 
touching General Grant 

Mr, WELLS, of Mississippi, rose. 

Mr. COX. And his services in jieace as well as in war. A gentle- 
man ovei" there shakes his head. He does not believe in the Admin- 
istration ? 

Mr. WELLS, of Mississippi. I do. I do not take back one word. 

THE ADMINLSTUATION INDOUSED. 

Mr. COX. Then you come within my category. Not a man on 
that side has failed to defend the Administration. Not one. That 
was my remark. You all stand by it. And thereby you stand by 
the removal of Pratt; you stand by the removal of the collector at 
Philadelphia who bore the same relation as Bristow and Wilson, and 
the appointment of another in his place who bore a different relation. 
You stand by the accepted resignation and acquittal of Belknap. 
You stand by the enforced resignation of Bristow. You stand by the 
removal of Jewell. You stand by the removal of Bluford Wilson ; of 
Yaryan, [laughter;] of all that class of men who were trying to pun- 
ish the guilty and uphold the laws. Is there any one to challenge 
this remark? You have favored to-day the retention of General Bab- 
cock in office, as well as in your platform, by the indorsement of the 
Administration. You have to-day on the floor showed yourselves in 
favor of the retention of the Public Printer, Mr. Clapp, who has been 
recommended for indictment. All through this beautiful civil-serv- 
ice business, from one end of it to the other, you have manfully stood 
up for the Cincinnati platform indorsing the Administration. I honor 
you for it. Why should you not? General Grant is your representa- 
tive man. Babcock and Belknap are your representative men. Bris- 
tow is not your representative man, or he would not have been dis- 
carded here and at Cincinnati. 

When you say it has cost a million dollars for investigation this 
session you thereby give that amount of credit to the democratic 
party and to this side of the House for undertaking with all the en- 
ergy of Hercules to clean out the Augean stables. 

Now, sir, why is it when we are closing up the session you filibuster, 
as on yesterday, again and again, to prevent a full and prompt re- 
port of these investigations? Why is it that, failing to stop these re- 
ports, you try to make up to-day for your gross delinquencies as- 
public servants by trivial excuses and small assaults on the constitii- 
tion and conduct of this body ? Why does the gentleman from Maine 
make that sort of a speech which Mirabeau once designated when he 
described hasty will-making — ^' Ah irato, ab imbecilU, a territo, a deli' 
rante." 

Mr. HOLMAN. Give us the translation. 

Mr. COX. A speech angry, imbecile, fearful, and crazy. With 
that classic remark I conclude. 



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